Fairytale
by paradisegurl101
Summary: Holly's life starting from her childhood, how she became the elf she is now. The catch: her life is similar to the fairytales we read in books... Later on in the story post TLC
1. A Newborn Baby

**Disclaimer :** I do not own Artemis Fowl. But I do own Damien Short and Heather Lakes!

This is a fanfiction, which has a 'fairytale style' to it. This story also has a completely different storyline than the books in the beginning, so please do not review saying 'Holly isn't this' or 'Holly isn't that'. It involves Holly and her friends, Artemis, Butler, etc… And an OC, whose name is Evaline, but we'll come back to that later.

The first chapter is about Holly's parents, which is mostly irrelevant to the rest of the story, but explains things about Holly. I also uploaded the second chapter with this, in case you think it's boring. If that's the case, please read the second one before deciding to stop following this story, because this was only a kind of prologue.

* * *

Chapter 1. A Newborn Baby

Damien Short was in a hospital bed. His dark hair was all disheveled, and his skin felt hot to the touch. He head was throbbing like crazy. Where was he? Slowly, he opened his eyes, which had lost their brilliant green glint, only to reveal a beautiful elf standing next to him with a clipboard. She smiled at him as he took in his surroundings. White room, machines that beeped.

"Am I in a hospital?" he finally asked. His voice sounded different and his throat felt very dry.

"Yes, sir."

"Wasn't I on a mission?" he asked to nobody in particular. The nurse, hearing him, smiled again and answered his question.

"Yes, sir. You were sent here to Haven Hospital because you were injured."

"Oh." A thought struck him.

"For how long?"

"Pardon me?"

"How long have I been here?"

"Four months, sir." Damien's eyes grew wide.

"Don't worry, sir. You are going to be perfectly fine. I can already clearly see that you don't have amnesia," she laughed.

Short looked at her again. This elf looked like an angel. She had a pale complexion, with hazel brown eyes. Her hair, tied tightly into a bun, was of a beautiful golden color.

"What's your name?" he asked. She looked surprised.

"My name, sir—"

"Don't call me sir. Just call me Damien."

"Very well, Damien. My name is Heather."

"Heather…" he repeated under his breath. She went back to her nursing business.

"Now, I need to go find the doctor to tell him that you are awake. We weren't expecting you to come out of your coma until next month!"

"Why next month?" he asked curiously.

"Because that's how long it usually takes when someone takes a blow to their head. A serious concussion it was."

He nodded.

"Just lie down, and I'll be back soon."

Damien Short watched the nurse go out the door and lay on his bed again. Soon after, he fell back asleep.

* * *

For the few weeks that Damien had to stay in the hospital, he saw that nurse again everyday. It made him feel happy, and he instantly fell in love with her. Heather Lakes, that is. 

"Good news, Damien!" Heather said as she came into the room with the doctor.

"What?" he said, eating his jello.

"You're in good health, and may leave tomorrow," replied the doctor, content.

"Heather will perform a few minor tests and after a good night's rest, you can be on your way in the morning," he continued. The doctor left the room to go see another patient.

"Isn't it exciting?" asked Heather as she filled in some papers before she pulled some kind of contraption closer to Short.

He was silent for a while. Not hearing anything, the female elf felt nervous and slightly worried.

"What's the matter?"

"We won't see each other anymore," he said, looking at her in the eyes. She smiled.

"Of course we will." He stared at her again.

"I mean, if you want to that is," she blushed.

"Absolutely!"

"Great," she said as both their faces lightened up.

* * *

Two years later, Damien and Heather Short were in the Haven Hospital again. Heather was in labor. She was holding tightly to her husband's hand. 

"Come on, honey, only a little while longer," encouraged Damien. Her shouting resonated in the room and at last, there was a baby.

"Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Short, it's a girl," said the doctor.

"Let me hold her," she said in a soft whisper as Damien approached to see better.

"Damien, it's a girl," Heather said as he gently kissed her forehead.

"Yes, it is."

"What shall we name her?" the female elf asked excited, with a sound of exhausting and relief in her voice.

"How about Holly?" he asked.

"Of course," she said.

"Hello, Holly dear. Such a cute little elf you are!"

Holly cooed as her name had been said.

"I think she likes it," chuckled Damien.

"Yes, I think so too," Heather smiled.

"Sweet, little Holly Short," she whispered to her baby, herself and her husband, only for them to hear and no one else. "Daughter of the great Commander Short. You are going to grow up to be a strong elf, little one."

Holly sneezed once, closed her big hazel eyes and fell fast asleep in her mother's arms.

* * *

So… like, don't like? Please review to tell me, because if it's not worth continuing, I'll stop. Don't forget to read the next chapter, which is already up, before stopping if you don't like it! 

Have a nice day!


	2. The Orphanage

**Disclaimer :** I do not own Artemis Fowl. Yay! I finally own something, though. More like someone-- Evaline.

Here's the second chapter. In this part, I just randomly picked numbers, because I have no clue how the aging system works. Holly's twenty years old, so that's around seven years old in human age in this story. Four years old is like two months old, maybe. Sorry if I can't be more specific or find any link between the ages and stuff.

The OC Evaline is in this chapter now, and Holly calls her Evie. (pronounced as the letters E and V)

* * *

Chapter 2. The Orphanage

_Holly Short. Mother passed away one week after her daughter's birth because of illness. Father deceased because of a LEP mission three months later. _

That was how Holly ended up in the orphanage. She had no family, nobody to take her in. The young little elf had been here since she was a baby, not that she would remember though. She was now twenty years old. No one knows why, but she grew up differently from the rest—stubborn, smart, doesn't take instructions from anyone. That's why she always got in trouble. That's why she was seen as an outcast. Except by one elf who was around the same age as her, that is. Evaline. Why? Perhaps because she was a little strange herself.

"Holly! What're you doing? You know we're not allowed in Miss Gerson's office! We'll get in trouble!" hissed Evaline.

"Evie, it'll just take a second. She's gone, anyway," replied Holly casually as she ran her fingers over each file in the locked cabinet—which was now unlocked because she had picked it open with a paperclip.

"We shouldn't be doing this," said Evie nervously.

"Well, _I_ have to," the other replied stubbornly.

Evaline Mist gave a sigh as she guarded by the door. Young as she was, her features already struck most people. She had long, dark brown hair, and deep blue eyes. However, nobody could ever say she resembled her parents, because she was left on a doorstep in a baby basket the same day that Holly came to the orphanage.

"I got it!" exclaimed Holly triumphantly, without making too much noise.

She looked at her file.

_Name: Holly Short_

_Birth date: unspecified, arrived at the age of four years old_

_Parents: Damien Short: LEP commander, deceased in mission_

_Heather Lakes: Haven Hospital worker, deceased from illness_

_Comments: Sent here by the LEP, no other relatives._

Tears welled up in Holly's eyes as she read this, but she pushed them back in.

"Come on, Evaline, I'm done," she said as she put everything back into the file cabinet. They two closed the door behind them and went back up to their rooms.

"Holly, what did you find out?"

"That we're going to see the LEP next time Miss Gerson's away."

"You mean run away from home?" said Evaline, horrified.

"This isn't a home, Evie! Miss Gerson's no mommy. Those are supposed to be nice and sing you to sleep, and give you hugs and kisses," Holly answered sadly.

"Yeah, but—"

"You don't have to come…"

"But you're my bestest friend, Holly. I'm gonna be all alone without you!"

"Then come with me. We can go on an adventure and find the LEP, and we'll live happily ever after!"

"Holly, what's the LEP?"

"I heard Miss Gerson talk 'bout it with some other grownup. I think it's a police officer."

"But what about school?"

"Evie, we can find a better school, where people smile at us and talk to us. Yeah… Think about it." Evaline hesitated for a long time before answering her friend.

"Are you sure we're gonna be okay?"

"Of course!"

"Okay."

So for the next weeks, when Holly and Evaline were sent to their rooms, they would plan the escape. They found a map in Miss Gerson's office and read it as best as they could. They prepared their backpacks with clothes and some canned food. One day, early in the morning, when they knew the orphanage headmistress was gone, they snuck out. They managed not to get seen by the other kids and made their way down the road that led to the city.

* * *

So… I know it's kind of weird, but it's _still_ the beginning. Soon enough, there's going to be a big skip and Holly will be a grownup, and the story's going to be in line with the books… Sort of… By the way, I know these chapters have been short, and I probably intend to keep it that way unless anyone has an objection to that. 

Anyway, tell me what you think! Should I continue this?

Have a nice day!


	3. LEP Plaza

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Artemis Fowl. And never will.

Voila! Here is the next chapter. I purposely wrote mistakes (like I did a few times in the previous chapter), because remember, Holly's like, seven. Evaline's probably… almost six or six. By the way, when Holly says "Oh, elf!", it's kind of like "Oh, man!".

Thank you very much to those who reviewed! I didn't expect that many… Actually, I was kind of expecting zero or one review… So I'm glad to say that of course I'll keep writing this story!

For the last chapter, I was informed by _ChocolateIsMyDrug_ (thanks!) that Holly's father had passed away when she was sixty years old (something I had forgotten). However, I will not change this seeing as it will complete change the story, but I'll keep this in mind for future fanfictions before you all think that I change facts for my story's benefit.

Last but not least, thanks to _artyfan#1_ for the idea about Trouble, which I'm going to alter to a far extent. But I'm still giving you credit. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you'll see more about this in the next chapter (or the one after that). (The others who are reading this as well will understand later on. If not, just ignore this paragraph.)

* * *

Chapter 3. LEP Plaza

**Holly's POV**

Today, me and Evie heard that Miss G was going to buy groceries to stock the orphanage's fridge. I was holding onto my backpack sooo tight, I think it started to hurt. I don't remember much though, I was too nervous. It was horrible! Miss Gerson _had_ to choose today to take her time. Doesn't she know the streets aren't safe for little kids like me and Evie at night? She should. But then again, she doesn't know we're leaving… To tell you the truth, I don't know where we're going exactly, but it's prob'ly a biiiiig building with L.E.P. on it. I don't know. It doesn't show on the map, either. All the streets are so tiny! They're as skinny as my fingers! Well, I don't think my fingers are skinny, but Evie says they are. I don't know why she thinks that.

"Holly! I think Miss Gerson's leaving now!" exclaimed Evie, who was waiting by the window, looking down at the parking place.

"Oh wait. Never mind," she said sadly. "She's talking to the mailman now."

"Frond! When's she gonna leave?" I wanted to know.

What was taking her so long? Oh yeah. The mailman. He has like, _one_ letter to deliver. And it's not even fun! There's just numbers on the paper. I know. I saw it once when we went to Miss G's office.

Speaking of Miss Janett Gerson—what kind of name is that, anyway? —, she's so cranky all the time! And it shows. She looks so strict, with her hair tied all neatly in a ponytail, not a strand stickin' out. She has bags under her eyes and her skin! It's so hard! Not hard as in a rock, but I mean not soft. I forgot the word for it. But it's not nice. Everyone says that she's not old, but she has wrinkles. Maybe she's been workin' too much. She should go on a trip. Oh, but not with me and Evie! That would be horrible! Nope. No way.

"Holly? Holly! Come _on_! She's gone now. We have to hurry!" said Evie.

"Okay."

So then Evaline and me, we checked to see if the other kids were asleep in their rooms. They would tattle on us if they knew. They don't like us. I think that's prob'ly why we're running away in the first place. The coast was clear, so we ran down the stairs to the entrance. It's so hard trying to run while keeping quiet, especially when you have huuuge backpacks to carry. At least they're not heavy. We put some of our clothes. I put some canned fruits and water, and Evie brought small blankets just in case we get cold, and the map. Oh, elf! I just thought of something—we should have brought a compass. Too bad. But it's not like we can read it anyway. Well, _I_ can't. Evie's smart, she prob'ly could if we had one.

We walked out the driveway and now we're on a loooong, long road. It's supposed to bring us to the center of Haven. I see where it goes from our rooms' windows.

"Now, all we have to do is follow the road!" said Evie, all excited.

"Yeah, but where will we go from there?" I asked.

Usually it's Evie that asks the questions, but I 'unno. Maybe I feel… kind of… I don't know how to say it. Not happy, but not nervous, or scared. Just weird!

"I don't know. Maybe we can ask someone from the city later on." I looked at Evaline very strangely. It's not like her to do things like that.

"I mean, I know we're not s'ppose to talk to strangers, Holly, but how else will we know where to go?" she frowned.

"Okay, but we have to ask a nice lady. Not people with pointy hats and long noses. Or anyone who's dressed in red and white and gives presents, we don't know if it's safe."

"No pointy hats or presents. Got it. How about someone with wings?"

"You mean sprites?"

"Yeah. Pixies look mean. Or we can always ask elves like us."

"But not if they're like Miss Gerson."

"I don't think there's more than one Miss Gerson."

"I said _like_."

"Well, of course we won't ask anyone who's like Miss Gerson!"

"Maybe we could ask a… a dwarf!"

"No, Holly! I heard that those are smelly!"

"Ew! Okay, never mind," I laughed.

We kept talking like this all the way down the long road. It helped me feel better, and I think it did the same for Evie. Even though it was hot because of the sun, there was still some wind. Me and Evie stopped once, under this big tree, to eat some fruits, but it didn't last long. We had to keep going, or else we'd be stuck alone in the dark. And I heard from someone from the orphanage that there were werewolves and stuff. I don't really know what they are, but I don't think it's a good thing. Evaline says they're scary. Then again, she's scared of a lot of things.

**Evaline's POV**

Holly and me were sitting under a tree when we clearly saw the sun in the sky. When Miss Gerson had left, it was hidden behind some clouds and it was still early. I don't like it when Holly calls Miss Gerson Miss G. It's not polite, even if we don't like her that much.

Anyway, after we finished our cans, we continued on the road. After a suuuuper long time, we finally saw tiny houses by the side of the road.

"Look, Evie! We're getting closer. There're houses—oh, and look! The buildings look bigger!" Holly exclaimed.

"Yeah! Let's walk faster so we can get there soon."

"Okay, but not too fast. My legs are already tired."

So then we walked along faster than before. All of the sudden, we saw a _bunch_ of fairies all over the streets! They all look like very busy fairies. And—and we saw pods, but they're much nicer than the one Miss Gerson owns. Me and Holly hopped onto the curb, and watched where we were going.

"I don't want anyone to bump into us," I whispered.

"Me neither," Holly said back.

Just a minute later, Holly grabbed my arm tightly.

"Ow! Holly!" But she wasn't listening.

"Evie! Look! It says LEP!"

I couldn't believe it. It _was_ really huge. Then I thought, maybe it's a place for kids like us. Orphans, and the LEP was an orphanage. But a _nice_ one, where fairies actually put us to sleep, and tell us bedtime stories. Or maybe inside, there would be a playground, where all the kids in Haven came to play and be friends, and we could eat yummy stuff there, and when we would be tired, we could go upstairs and we would find big jumpy, soft beds and we could lie down on them and—and… I don't know! Holly was right! We were supposed to come here. I just know it.

We were just in front of the building now.

"Ready?" Holly asked me.

"Definitely!"

So we opened the two heavy doors, and we went inside.

Whoa.

**Holly's POV**

Oh, my. Frond! My heart feels like it's gonna explode! I'm so excited! Maybe my daddy's friends will all be there, and they'll be nice to us. And then they'll all say, "Are you Damien Short's daughter? You look so much like him!" Then I'll say yes, and they'll say that we could come live with them, 'cause they were such good friends with my dad. And Evaline will have to come too! 'Cause I won't go without her. And then they'll say yes, because me and Evie, we won't take much space. And we don't eat a lot. Okay, not a lot a lot. And we could share rooms, and we don't need no fancy clothes.

"Ready?" I asked Evaline.

"Definitely," she said. I can't even pronounce that word. Oh well.

We both opened the heavy doors to this strong-looking building and I couldn't believe my eyes. Everything was so… plain. It's kind of disappointing, when you think about it.

"Holly! There's a fairy right there in the corner!"

"Is it an elf?"

"Yeah."

"Does she look like Miss G?"

"Miss Gerson, and no, she does not."

"Okay, let's go ask then!" I said. That's good. That that fairy's an elf, I mean.

"Wait! It says… re… re-cep-tion. What does that mean?"

"I dunno."

"Well, is it dangerous?" she gasped.

"No, silly! Or they would have written 'dangerous'!" I answered. What? That _was_ a silly question.

"Well then why didn't they write 'desk'?" Evie demanded. She's always like that.

"I dunno! Don't ask me, Evie! Ask _that_ elf!" I said as I pointed at the female elf. I don't know why Miss Alice Plum, our school teacher, always wants me to say 'female'. I like saying 'girl' better. But I guess it makes sense, because she's not a little kid. She's a female.

"Shh! We have to be _quiet_," she whispered. I rolled my eyes, but did as she told me.

The desk was bigger than I thought. Bigger than Miss Alice Plum's desk at school. She's nice.

"Um… Hello, ma'am," I said as nicely as possible. So much for that, she didn't even look down!

"Um… Hello?" I tried again. _There_ you go.

"Erm… Hi, little elf—elves. What can I do for you?" she asked strangely.

"We're lookin' for a family."

She didn't say anything for a while.

"Can—can you repeat that…?"

"Holly, my name is Holly. And this is my friend Evie," I said, gesturing toward Evaline.

"And I said we're looking for a family."

"Hm… well, do yours parents work here?" she asked curiously.

"My dad does… Well, did."

"Oh, well what does he do now?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?" she asked.

"Nothin'. He's not here anymore."

"Well, that's why I'm—_oh_, I'm sorry dear."

"'S okay. But we need a family."

"To do what?"

"Can you keep a secret?" I asked very quietly. The lady had to lean real close to hear.

"Of course, I can, sweetie." I looked at Evaline to make sure she was okay with it, and she nodded.

"Well, me and Evie here, we ran away from Miss Gerson's orphanage. You see, she was mean, and no one liked us. I knew that my daddy used to work here, so I thought that maybe one of his friend's would like to take us in!"

The lady looked bothered by that idea. I don't know why. I think it's great. My daddy must have been famous here, so he must have plenty of friends! She made a weird breathing noise before answerin'.

"What's your name, little elf?"

"I already told you. It's Holly."

"Your last name, dear."

"Are you gonna tell on us?" asked Evaline, speaking for the first time. The female elf smiled and shook her head no.

"My name is Holly Short, ma'am."

"Short?"

"Yeah! Do you know my daddy?" I asked. I couldn't help but feel excited. Maybe this lady could help us find someone around here who we could live with!

"Yes, I do know your father, dear. And how about you?" she asked Evie.

"My name is Evaline Mist, but I don't know either of my parents." The female looked a little bit sad at this. And she's not even the one who lost her parents. I think it's what fairies call sympa…sym-pa-the-tic. Yeah, that's it. Sym-pa-the-tic.

"Well, Holly and Evaline, I will have to talk to some important fairies first. But what do you two think about living with me?"

"But we don't know your name," said Evie sadly.

"My name? It's Calanthe Kelp. My husband was a very good friend of your father's, Holly."

"So are you sure it's okay that we stay at your house?" I asked.

"Absolutely. I just have to tell this to a few fairies, because it's important, or they'll get worried."

"But you promised you wouldn't tell anyone!"

"I won't tell them everything. I'll still keep my promise. Just my boss, my husband and my son, okay?"

I looked at Evie.

"Okay," she said, meaning that she trusts this lady. And so should I, I guess. Wait…

"You have a son, ma'am?"

"Yes, he's a little older than you, but I think you'll all get along just fine."

"Okay!" me and Evie exclaimed.

* * *

So what do you all think now? I tried describing and elaborating more, making the chapter longer at once. Isn't that awesome? Lol 

And for the first time ever, I tried using point of views. I find it easier to describe things this way. So what do you all think? Should I write like that more often? More Holly POVs and/or more Evaline POVs? Someone else's POV?

I haven't had time to re-read this chapter, but I did use spell-check (though I couldn't correct much because Holly and Evaline are meant to talk like that). Go ahead and point out any mistakes and problems and I'll be glad to fix them!

Since I updated so quick, it might take a while before the next one… And sorry for the very long disclaimer at the beginning, I'll try not to make it as long in the future.

Anyway, have a jolly, wonderful day!


	4. On the Way to a New Home

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Artemis Fowl. And never will.

Here's another chapter. Hope you all like it! Thanks for all the reviews!

You'll probably wonder why Root and Vinyáya are there. Well, let's just say they were old enough to see Holly's father _and_ her. Technically, though, Holly's dad wasn't so old when he passed away, so this explanation kind of makes sense. Yeah…

* * *

Chapter 4. On the Way to a New Home

Many fairies were looking at the three when they passed in the halls. Calanthe saw a LEP officer coming down for break and told him to replace her quickly before he had the chance to complain. Now, each child in hand, she made her way down the hall to her husband's office.

"Wait here, kids," she said, looking at Holly and Evaline, making sure they understood. Calanthe knocked and waited for a response.

"Bastian?" She carefully opened the door.

"Here's not here, but I think I know where he is," she said to Holly and Evie.

"He who?" asked Evie.

"My husband."

"You mean the male you're married to?" asked Holly curiously. Calanthe chuckled.

"Yes, the male I'm married to." Holly didn't know why she just laughed at her. It was only a question, after all.

"Let's go see in his boss' office, okay?" Mrs Kelp asked, slightly bending down to hold their hands again. The two stayed quiet, but nodded their heads. Calanthe was used to being around kids. She had two herself, actually—Drefan and Gregor.

They walked off to another corridor, hearing shouts being made. Calanthe sighed.

"Root," she murmured, though Evaline heard this.

"There's a tree shouting in there?" This made the lady laugh more than when Holly commented last time.

"No, no, dear. See for yourself," she said, as the shouting got louder, which meant that they were close. She knocked on the door. There was an irritated sigh before a reply.

"Come in!" said Root impatiently. Calanthe opened the door, revealing Vinyáya, Root and her husband, Bastian. She hushed the little elves, telling them to take a seat.

Root's eyes widened when he saw two little squirts in his office. His face turned even redder than it was before. Vinyáya and Bastian smiled widely, enjoying the sight of his irritated expression.

"Calanthe, what are two little rascals doing _my_ office?" he demanded, trying not to scare them off. Actually, it didn't really matter. At the mention of this, Holly _had_ to say something. She jumped off her seat and marched right up to Root.

"Hey, mister! I am not a rascal! And Evie isn't either!" Root was taken aback. _No one_ spoke to him that way, especially not this little twenty-year-old girl.

"Don't you talk back to me, young lady!"

"Well _you_ don't talk back to me then! And stop your shouting!"

"Why you little—" It could be anyone's guess what he was going to say next, but Vinyáya had restrained him.

"Now Root, is that a way to talk to such a sweet little elf?" asked Vinyáya.

"I don't have the time for this."

"So we see. Calanthe, dear, what's the meaning of this?"

"Umm…" she didn't want to start the conversation while the kids were there. She told Holly to go back to see Evaline.

"You see, they're orphans," she started.

"I can see why elves wouldn't want them," said Root.

"Oh, don't say such nonsense, Julius!" exclaimed Vinyáya.

Tension built up. Everyone was feeling pity for the two little ones now. Mrs Kelp decided to continue.

"They told me that they ran off, and that they came here because Holly—the girl who talked to you, sir—her father used to work here." Root's eyes widened.

"Whose daughter is she?"

"She says that Damien Short was her father." For once, Root didn't say anything. How could he have… or his wife, actually, have… _conceived_ such an awful child?

"Sweetheart, why are you telling us this?" Bastian asked, speaking up for the first time since his wife had gotten here.

"Well, they said they needed a family—"

"Dear, you know we've got our hands full with Drefan and Gregor!"

"I know, but I couldn't just have left them standing there! And you were such great friends with Damien! It's the least we can do." Bastian thought about it, but it didn't take long. He sighed.

"Okay, then. At least they're past the stage of needing diaper changes." Calanthe giggled. Root was still confused.

"So why'd _I_ need to know about this?"

"I was wondering if we needed to discuss this with the Council or not. Perhaps you could tell them."

"That won't be necessary, Calanthe. It's your decision. The orphanage would have to know, of course, but otherwise I don't think the Council needs to be informed," said Vinyáya.

"Very well," nodded Mrs Kelp.

Mr Kelp walked up to the children.

"So, who do we have here?" he asked in fatherly tone. It took them a few seconds before realizing that he was talking to them.

"My name is Evie, sir."

"And mine is Holly."

"How are you two?"

"Okay," they said in unison.

"So are you staying at my family's house?"

"Can we?" asked Holly. Her eyes showed much hope.

"Of course, you both can! I have two sons. One is very young though. His name is Gregor. My other son, Drefan, he's about your age. I think you'll all get along just fine."

* * *

After the grownups had spoken for a long time, Mr and Mrs Kelp, Holly and Evaline were on their way home. Or for the little elves, their new, temporary house. However, they first had to go and pick up Drefan from school and Gregor from nursery school. 

Bastian parked the car on the side of the street, in front of Haven's Elementary School. A little elf came running to the car.

"Hey Dad!" Drefan said happily.

"Mom, you're here too!" Calanthe smiled.

"Yes, dear, now get in the car. We have some news for you."

Suddenly, he saw through the open window to the back of the van.

"Mom… who are they?" he said, looking at the two little elves as if they were mud people.

"I'll tell you all about it when we get home," she said kindly. Drefan shrugged. Maybe they would like to be his new friends. He opened the side door and jumped into the van.

"Hey! My name's Drefan, who are you?"

"Hi, my name's Evaline, but you can call me Evie."

"I'm Holly."

"What are you doing here?" Drefan asked curiously.

"My daddy was friend's with your dad."

"Oh. So where is he?"

"Up there," Holly pointed.

"On our car roof?" demanded Drefan, shocked.

"No! Up _there_!"

"With the _mud people_?" He was even more astounded.

"No, you goof!"

Holly suddenly remembered that she had to be grateful. They were taking her in, after all.

"I mean, no, Drefan. He's in heaven."

"Oh… Sorry."

"It's okay. I want to be just like my dad when I grow up."

"Me too! I'm going to be in the LEP. What did your dad do?"

"He was in the LEP, too."

"But you can't work there later! You're a girl!"

"_Excuse me?_" scoffed Holly.

"Oh no, you shouldn't have said that," whispered Evaline to Drefan. Luckily, she was sitting next to him, preventing Holly from doing anything drastic.

"You don't know her like I do," she added.

The car departed, headed for the nursery school. It was going to be a long—and maybe loud—ride.

* * *

So… wonder what Holly's going to do next? 

By the way, if you didn't get it, Drefan is Trouble and Gregor is Grub!

Have an awesomely awesome day!


	5. The Kelp Family

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Artemis Fowl.

Another chapter up! I am _so _sorry for the long wait. I had so much trouble with my computer, writers block, the Internet… Thanks for being patient. All of your reviews encouraged me, too! It's especially long, on account of me feeling so bad…

**Author's Note: **Drefan was Trouble's birth name before he changed it. It actually means Trouble. As for Grub, I named him Gregor, because honestly, who would call their child Grub? So that's just his nickname. Gregor means vigilant, which I thought suits him well.

* * *

Chapter 5. The Kelp Family

**Drefan's POV**

"No, you _can't_ be a LEP officer!" I shouted at her for the millionth time. How could she even _think_ that? I mean, come on! She's a _girl_ for Frond's sake!

"Yes I can!" Holly shouted back at me. Sheesh, she's so grouchy! And she's in my parents' car! The other girl, Evaline I think, she finally spoke up.

"Um… Can you two not argue about this? We're going to see who's right in the future anyways, and just so you know," she looked at me, "Girls _can_ do whatever they set their minds to."

Holly made a weird face and stuck her tongue out at me.

"Mom!" I said.

"Dear, please be nice with the girls," was the only thing she said. Some help my mom was. Isn't she supposed to be on my side? Who are these elves, anyway? I mean, I know who they are, but what are they doing with my family, in our _car?_

We finally arrived at the day care place. My dad stopped the car near the curb, and went in to get my little brother Gregor. He cries a lot. It's funny, but I think he actually knows what we do. Like when I try to sneak some yummy cookies out of the jar in the kitchen, he starts crying and then mom comes in and finds out.

"Kids, do you mind going in the back? Drefan's mother will have to sit next to Gregor to make sure he's okay during the ride," my dad said.

"Yes sir!" exclaimed Holly. I looked at her weirdly.

"Uh… Drefan, you'll have to move," she said to me. I didn't want to answer, so I just took my seatbelt off and jumped out of the van. I couldn't help but notice how… Short they were. I couldn't help it.

"You're short," I said, before thinking. Mom says that I always do that.

"No, she's Short," Evaline told me.

"Well, you're short, too." She raised an eyebrow at me.

"No, I'm Evie Mist. _She's_ Holly Short," Evaline repeated pointing as if I didn't get it. What is up with her?

"No. You two are short. I'm tall."

"Oh, _that's_ what you meant," she sighed. Holly spoke up now.

"Well, at least we're not going to bump into doors like you will if you keep growing up like that!" She started giggling.

I was shocked. I never thought that being tall could be a _bad_ thing. I mean, it's better than being short, right? It was weird, but I couldn't help but laugh too. It didn't sound mean like it was s'ppose to, I guess. Maybe she just feels lonely, and that's why she acts like that. She said she didn't have a dad, after all.

**Holly's POV**

You know, I'm wonderin' what went wrong with Drefan. I mean, look at him. His parents are nice, Gregor—or as Drefan calls him, Grub—is… Okay. But then you look at Drefan and it's like, "What happened to you?" Although I wouldn't say that to his face. So the rest of the car ride back to the Kelp's house wasn't so long, and we actually laughed and had fun.

I already feel like I'm at home, with the Kelp family, I mean. Even though Drefan _is_ kinda annoying. Anyway, it was so cool to see Haven. I never saw anything out of the orphanage or the school me and Evie went to. There were so many people all over the city. I couldn't even count them on my fingers and toes!

We finally slowed down, so we must be getting closer to the house.

"Crescent Avenue," I said aloud.

"Yeah, that's where live," Drefan told me.

"Oh, which one's your house?" Evie asked, all excited and jumping in her seat.

"It's all the way at the end. One-three-zero-seven."

Me and Evie both looked out the window, tryin' to find the Kelp's house. All the ones on this block were amazing! They weren't as big as the orphanage, but they sure were pretty. We got to the end of the avenue, and we spotted it.

"There it is!" I exclaimed.

"Yes," said Drefan's mom. "Here we are, children." Mr Kelp pushed a little button and the doors slid open. Drefan sure took his sweet time getting out from his side of the car, then Evie came out, and me, too.

"Ow, Evie!" I cried. I bumped into her because she didn't move to the side when she got out. She didn't say anything. Instead she just stared ahead, like some dumb mudman.

"Um, _hello_? Evie?" I asked, waving my hand in front of her face. I finally gave up and turned around, and _wow_. Their house was the prettiest one! The gardens were filled with all kinds of flowers and water fountains, and the house looked big. I know I was looking at it when we were in the car and all, but this was just so cool! Drefan is really lucky.

Oh Frond! I just thought of something! I hope he's not some spoiled, little rich elf. That would be just terrible!

"Ouch!" we both said at the same time.

"What?" Drefan asked sheepishly. Well, I think that's the word. Maybe innocently, I dunno. "I had to pinch you two! I know it wasn't nice, but you weren't answering, so I though you were like… zombies or something."

"What's that?" Evie asked.

"You know, those green people in comics," me and Drefan said together.

"Frankenstein," she said.

"_No_. The _other _green people," I grumbled.

"Well, then, I don't know." I couldn't help but groan. Evie's s'pposed to be smart, with her compass and fancy words and all. How could she not know what a zombie was?

"Girls, are you coming?" asked Drefan's mom. So we followed. I took a huge breath. On into the big house.

"Drefan, son, why don't you show them your room?" asked Mr Kelp when we arrived inside.

"Um… Because it's messy, Dad."

"Didn't I ask you to clean up?"

"I did, but Grub came messing up my room again!"

"And how did he get in to your room?"

"He crawled there!" Drefan said defensively.

"Oh, never mind then. You can clean up after dinner." Drefan mumbled something, but I couldn't hear.

Out of the blue—I don't know why fairies say that. Why can't it be like, black or something? Black is neat. But Evie says that it's not even a colour—there was this strange sound.

"Shush!" I whispered to Evie. "It's not polite."

"Holly, that wasn't _my_ stomach, it was yours!" She laughed.

"Oh." I think I felt my cheeks turn red. I guess I forgot to eat while we both did our big escape to the LEP.

"I hear tummy rumbles," said Calanthe happily. "We can't afford to have empty stomachs in this house. Follow me in to the kitchen, kids." Then she walked across the corridor, followed by Drefan's dad who was holding Grub—I mean, Gregor, Drefan, and me and Evie.

**Evelyn's POV**

Today… Was the best day of my life. I can't believe it really happened. I pinched myself—Drefan asked if he could again, but I said no—and I was still awake. Food to fill our stomachs until we were full, nice people, a warm bed!

I just… This seems all _wrong!_ This whole charade—pretending they're our family. Even if it's like a temporary family. It's… I don't know.

Holly's all smiles, and so am I. I don't want the day to come, when they'll kick us out—like our real parents, surely. Or mine, anyway. I'm sure _my_ parents kicked me out when I was only a baby. Only, I'm not sure, because I never did want to check my file when we went to see Holly's.

I need to tell Holly, but I don't want to burst her bubble. I tried all day, but now we're already getting ready for our first night here.

"Evie, are you gonna help me unroll this sleeping bag, or not?" Holly asked. "There are also the pillows and blankets Mr and Mrs Kelp left out for us to place."

"Coming," I sighed.

"Is something wrong?"

"…No."

"Liar."

"No, I'm not!" There I go, lying again. I am such a horrible friend.

"Well, you're not a truther, either."

"A what?"

"Truth teller, I mean." I stayed quiet.

We finished unrolling both our bags and fixing our, well, floor. We're in the living room, because Gregor kept messing up Drefan's bedroom the whole evening. Besides, he didn't want to give up his bed for us, and frankly, I don't want to sleep in boy germs, either. The floor is fiiiiine with me. Me and Holly have seen worse, trust me.

"So, what's this all about?" started Holly, staring at me.

"What?"

"Why are you sad?" I couldn't keep it in anymore.

"This isn't our family. I don't want to—to—"

"To think that we've been adopted?" she asked. I couldn't help but noticed she sounded a teensy bit sad. And Holls is not that kind of person.

"Not that. Well… yes." I felt my eyes water.

"Holly, they are all so, _so_ kind, but what if they kick us out? What if they…" I tried to think of something. "What if they just start hating us for no reason? For us just… Being the elves we are? What if we're not good enough for them?"

"Don't say that, Evie! And the Kelps—they're not like that!" insisted Holly.

"You don't know that!"

"I promise you, Evie, that they're not like that. And we'll never feel hurt ever again. We were strong at the orphanage, and we'll be strong again if anything else like that ever happens." She smiled at me. I wanted to say, "No, you're the one who was strong the whole time," to her so badly.

"She's right. We're not like that." Me and Holly both jumped up so high, I thought our heads would have hit the ceiling.

"Drefan? What're you doing here?" Holly asked.

"Uh… getting ready for bed." I gulped.

"So… So you heard? What we were talking about?"

"Pretty much."

"Everything?"

"Yeah." I felt really bad now.

"Well, I mean, I didn't mean it that way, Drefan. Me and Holly, you know, we just—"

And the strangest thing happened. He walked over to us and smiled widely. _Smiled!_

"Why are you so happy?" asked Holly skep-ti-cal-ly. Grr… I still can't get that word down. I'll have to practice some more.

"Frond, it'll be fun having the two of you around. You don't know what you're getting yourselves into. Prank day starts tomorrow," he grinned. Then he walked up the stairs and to his bedroom for the night.

Me and Holly looked at each other.

"Prank… day?" I asked, surprised. I really didn't want to know what that was all about, but Holly had this evil look on her face.

"Um… Holls? …Are you okay?"

"Yes. Good night, Evie," she said, perfectly normal. I hesitated.

"Good night, Holly. Sweet dreams."

"You too," she yawned and turned to face the other side.

I can't help but think that… Even if we won't stay here forever, it'll be fun while it lasts.

* * *

I really hope you all liked it! Once again, I am so sorry that I haven't updated for that long, and promise that it won't happen again!

Please review! Have a good morning, day, afternoon, evening, night! And summer!


	6. Prank Day

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Artemis Fowl.

_**Gun toten Girly: **_Yes, hee hee! I hope you like it. I tried to make it amusing, but yeah… Not sure if I suceceded. Thanks for reviewing, I really appreciate it!

I am _so _sorry it took so long to update! I was in lack of inspiration... I'll try my best not to do that again. But anyway, with one story finished, I'll have more time for this! Enjoy this next chapter!

* * *

Chapter 6. Prank Day

Rays of artificial sun came through the big window of the living room, shining with all its might. The curtains, made of a special semi-transparent material, gleamed in the light. The faint warmth fell on two little elves' faces as they slowly woke up.

Evaline carefully brought her hands to her face and rubbed her eyes, trying to open them. She turned around and, squinting, tried to properly see Holly's face.

"Holly?" she whispered. "Are you awake yet?"

"No." Evaline couldn't help but smile.

"Very funny, Holls." Holly finally opened her eyes and looked at her friend. She slightly panicked inwardly.

_Where are we? _Was the first thought that crossed her mind.

"Don't worry, we're at the Kelps', remember?" said her friend as she noticed this.

"Oh. Ooooh, right," replied Holly as realization dawned on her.

"I wonder if anyone's awake yet."

"I think I heard someone before. Maybe Mr Kelp went to work."

"Maybe," replied Evie.

Suddenly, the phone started ringing. The two elves jumped slighty, surprised.

"No one's picking up," whispered Holly after a few rings, as if a bomb was about to detonate.

"Should we pick it up? If it keeps ringing, it'll wake everybody up."

Holly shrugged.

"Okay, sure."

They found the phone stuck on the wall of the kitchen. Evaline absolutely refused to pick it up, earning herself a roll of the eyes from the other little elf.

"Hello?" said Holly.

"Hello, this is the EIB," said a strange voice.

"EIB? What's that?"

"Uh… Uh… It's confential."

"Confential? What's that?" asked Holly, confused.

"I think he means confi_den_tial," whispered Evie, who was standing so close to Holly, trying to listen to the phonecall as well.

"It's secret, okay?" the person shouted out. "Oops."

Then Holly heard a repetitive beeping sound. The caller had hung up.

"Weird," she said.

"More like creepy, Holls."

The doorbell rang.

"AH! IT'S THE CREEPAZOID, HOLLY!" exclaimed Evaline, jumping up and freaking out. There was a loud noise, coming from the staircase.

"That's for me!" shouted Drefan. He opened the door and greeted his guest. A young sprite, about their age, entered.

"Definitely a creepazoid," whispered Holly as the two boys approached them.

"Holly, Evie, this is Chix Verbil. Chix, this is Holly and Evie."

"Hey! Have you ever heard of the EIB?" he grinned widely at them.

"Yeah," started Evie. "But we're not supposed to talk about it, it's _confidential_." She and Holly started giggling like mad.

"Okaaaay…" said Trouble. "Anyway, meet my teammate, guys. For the pranks. Two and two. The phonecall was a warm up. "Our headquarters is in my room, and yours could be… the kitchen. Ready?"

"Oh yeah," smirked Holly.

"Good. The game ends when Chix has to leave. Now go!" he exclaimed as both teams ran to their headquarters.

The boys ran upstairs as quickly as their feet could carry them, while Holly rolled on the floor, doing a summersault.

"Holly, what are you doing?" Evie asked skeptically.

"Shh! They could be listening to us," she said, getting up as she was in the kitchen now.

"You're being ridiculous!"

Holly started rummaging in the drawers of the counter.

"Oh yeah, then what's this?" she asked matter-of-factly, pulling out a walkie-talkie and stuffing it in Evaline's face. She covered the mic part.

"I have a plan," she whispered to Evie.

"Okay, so we're going to go outside and set up a water bucket on top of the door. Then we'll call the boys, pretending that we need help with something, and the bucket of water will fall on their heads!" Holly said, extra loudly. Then, she turned off the walkie-talkie.

* * *

Upstairs, Drefan was sniggering. 

"Amateurs," he said as he shook his head.

"I don't know, Drefan. Something doesn't sound right," said a frowning Chix.

"What do you mean?"

"They're too pretty to do something like that."

"I thought you were being serious for once, Verbil!"

"Okay! I was just joking at that last bit, but they're definitely up to something…"

"So what do we do?"

"Concoct better tricks. C'mon, Dref! We're the best!"

"Right!" Agreed Drefan.

The day passed on quickly, prank after prank. When the game had started, the girls called the two boys from outside, saying they needed help with something. Drefan and Chix, knowing well that there was probably a bucket of water awaiting them at the front door, went through the back, only to be hit by freezing cold water, as if it had been ice from the freezer, only recently melted.

The game followed with an airplane sent into the kitchen. When Evaline opened it, she shrieked so loud, it wasn't a wonder why Grub started to cry. Instead of a message, there was this little black fuzzy thing. A spider. Only it was fake, and Holly immediately noticed this.

At snack time, Holly and Evie switched the salt and sugar pots without the boys knowing, as they ate their strawberries. Drefan took a bite out of his fruit and made a horrible grimace.

"Ew! What _is_ this?" he asked, horrified.

"Salt. Don't you like it?" Evie answered innocently.

"Here," said Holly, coming back from the refrigerator and handing Drefan and Chix a cans of soda.

"Oh, I don't drink soda," replied Chix.

"Oh."

"Why don't you offer it to Evie?" he asked suspiciously.

"Because she doesn't drink soda, either. Do you, Evie?"

"Nope!" the little elf replied proudly, grinning.

"Hey! What's that?" asked Drefan, pointing to the window. The girls turned around and he quickly switched his and Holly's cans.

"What?" demanded Holly.

"Oh, never mind. It was just a bird."

Holly shrugged it off, and when she opened her can, there was a loud fizzing sound, and the soda exploded all over her and Evaline, who was sitting right next to her.

"Backfire!" exclaimed the two boys, laughing while giving each other a well-deserved high five. Holly and Evie couldn't help but giggle as well.

Evening rolled in and Chix had to leave after supper. The kids and parents were standing at the doorway.

"Well, see ya, Drefan," he said, grinning.

"Yeah, see ya!"

"It was fun playing with you two, girls."

"Like smart!" exclaimed Holly.

"You mean _likewise_," Evaline whispered into her ear.

"Whatever!"

They all laughed and waved as the Verbil family left from the driveway.

"Did you have fun today, kids?" inquired Mrs Kelp.

"Yeah!" replied Drefan.

"Yup!" said Holly.

"Yes!" chimed Evie.

"Good. Well, now it's time for bed, so off you go!" said Calanthe sweetly. And off the kids hurried to get ready for bedtime once more.

_So it _is_ true then. Time flies when you're having fun! _Thought Holly.

* * *

Hope you had fun reading that! I sure enjoyed writing it. I have to admit though, I could have done better than that, but I really wanted to update because it's been such a long time. I'll do my very best for the next chapters though. I'll probably work on this when I have the time if you all want me to, though. 

Please review! Smiles, everyone.


	7. The LEP Game

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Artemis Fowl.

_**Gun toten Girly**_: Really? Well I'm glad it made you laugh then. It's very healthy, you know. Laughing, that is. Thanks for the review!

Tee hee, the LEP game scene was _Solelly_'s idea! Thankies! As for the rest of you, enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 7. The LEP Game

It was late afternoon and the whole family and their two guests were in the living room. The Kelp parents were on the sofa, watching a movie on the plasma screen. Gregor was on his mother's lap, drinking milk from a bottle. It seemed to be delicious milk, judging by how fast he was gulping it down. When finished, he started crying.

"Oh, Gregor! What did my little sweetheart do now?" asked Mrs Kelp, picking him up and burping her youngest child.

Evaline was tired of playing games. She, Drefan and Holly had just finished playing hide-and-seek, so she had curled up on the adjacent sofa with one of Drefan's storybooks. The boy, still full of energy, was deciding on a new game to play with Holly.

"Okay," started Trouble, "I am the _very_ famous Commander Root and you, Holly… You can be the rogue troll on the loose."

Holly's 'Are you kidding me?' appeared on her features.

"Wait a minute—no! I want to be the Commander! Yesterday you said it would be my turn!"

"Silly you, Holls! You can't be in the LEP, I already told you."

"But you said so yesterday!" she whined.

"Really? It must have slipped out of my mind." Holly grumbled.

"I still say it's my turn."

"But you're a _girl_," Drefan sighed. He was tired of telling her that same thing for the umpteenth time. Over and over… She still didn't get it.

"So? Girls can be in the LEP." The boy was about to retort when Holly continued. "Oh, fine! Have it your way. Just pretend that I'm a boy or something…"

"But it still isn't rea… rea-lis-tic! It isn't, you know!"

"I don't care."

"Frond, you are worse than a moody swear toad, Holls!"

"No, no I am not! You just can't admit that girls like me will rock the LEP someday!"

Drefan wasn't listening anymore. He had an idea that might possibly please the both of them.

"Holly! How about I be Commander Root and you could be Commander Vinyáya? Is that okay for you?" he asked hopefully. All he wanted to do was get on with the game already.

"Maybe… Okay, fine, you win. But who's going to be our enemy?"

They both looked at Evie at once. The girl, feeling eyes burn holes through her book, looked up.

"Huh? What? I'm not playing remember? Besides, I was the bad guy yesterday."

"But you were good at it!" encouraged Drefan. "Really goo—ood," he added, lingering on the last word.

"Too ba—ad," Evaline replied with an equal tone to his, and went back to reading her book.

"Oh well, who else could it be?" demanded Holly impatiently.

At that moment, Grub rounded from behind the couch where Mr and Mrs Kelp were sitting and watching television, and came to view. "Grub can be a dangerous mudman!" exclaimed Drefan excitedly. Holly couldn't resist the urge to roll her eyes.

"Oh wow, that is _very_ frightening, Drefan…" she started, but it was too late. The boy was already approaching his little brother.

"Stop, mudman! Don't come any closer. This is Commander Root of the LEP, and I _command_ you to drop any weapons you are carrying!"

_Yeah, the only weapon probably being the smell coming from his diapers… _thought Holly and frowned at that stinky idea. Instead, she said, "If he's a mudman, he doesn't know the LEP, Drefan!"

"Oh no! He's on the move!" Drefan said, completely ignoring her comment. The young elf grabbed the foam swords and his bike helmet, pretending to be starring in a chase scene.

"Hey, wait! Wait! DREFAN YOU HAVE MY FOAM SWORD! That's _unfair_!" she said, chasing after him into the kitchen as well.

"Isn't that nice," started Bastian. "Wouldn't you like to join them, Evaline?"

"Oh, no, sir. I'm just fine with my book," she replied politely.

"Speaking of books, what are we going to do about you two?" asked Mrs Kelp. Evie felt something horrible turn in her stomach.

Seeing the fear in the young elf's eyes, Calanthe immediately clarified what she had meant.

"About school, dear! I meant about school. So where did you and Holly go?"

"Saint Frond's Elementary School. It's not so far from the orphanage."

"Oh, okay. So, would you and Holly prefer to keep attending there?"

Evaline cringed.

"Or perhaps," started Mrs Kelp, "Would you like to go to Drefan's school? Haven Elementary? It's a very nice place."

"That's very nice of you to offer, Mrs Kelp, but I simply don't know. Me and Holly haven't gone that far in our plan yet. You see, we didn't even know if anybody would take us in."

Both parents looked at each other sympathetically.

"Well, how about this: Tomorrow, I'm not working, so why don't we go to school with Drefan, and we'll ask the principal what we should do. At the same time, you'll both be able to see what the school looks like," suggested Mrs Kelp.

"That'd be awfully nice, and I'd really like that. Holly too, I think." Calanthe smiled.

"So it's settled then. Tomorrow we'll go see the school."

Evie gave an appreciative smile and was about to go back to reading her book when she heard her a voice shout out, "Drefan! What in Frond's name are you doing? _That is not a buzz baton, you goof, it's a softnose laser!_"

She couldn't help but giggle and shake her head slightly.

_Same old Holly..._

* * *

Short chapter, I know. I'll try to make the next one longer! Smiles, everyone, and have a nice day! Hope your back-to-school was okay! (If you were going back to school, that is...) Oh, and reviewies? 


	8. Haven Elementary

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Artemis Fowl.

_**yonosay**_: That's a very interesting idea. If I do, however, it would be after several other chapters. 

_**Gun toten Girly**_: It's nice of you to say! That's basically the point of this story. Awww, squeals with you because I just love to squeal

Well, it's been a long time since I last wrote as you all may have noticed. However, I promised myself I wouldn't give up my stories, so here I am. I probably would have, had it not been for all your kind reviews—that's what kept me going on. I could ramble on about why I haven't written for months (half a year, even?), but they would still simply be excuses written on front of your screen. 

I'm sorry, and I'm back for good, if anyone's willing to still read my stories!

* * *

Chapter 8. Haven Elementary

**Holly's POV**

_Beep. Beep. _

"Mmmgh," I moaned. What was that awful noise? 

_Beep. Beep. Beep. _

I pulled my pillow from under my head and covered my ears. Can't a kid get some sleep these days? 

_Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep._

"Arrrrgh! Evie, what's that noise?" I snapped as I turned around. 

I saw her sitting down, her hand reaching for a tiny little box. 

"Some people call it an alarm clock," she said with a smile. 

"I call it annoying," I grumbled. "Why'd do make it ring so early? Usually Mrs Kelp comes an' wakes us up." 

"Yeah, but we're going to school with her and Drefan, remember?" 

Um… Yeah, not really. I _did_ search every little corner of my brain, but nothin'—oooh, wait. Oh yeah. School. 

"Yippee," I couldn't stop myself from making a comment. 

"Was that sarcastic?" Evie asked me. 

"Huh?" 

"Sarcastic, y'know, like the opposite of what you really think," she explained. 

"Oh. Yeah, it was castatic." 

Evie stuck out her tongue with an 'ick' expression on her face. 

"What?" I couldn't help but ask. 

"Oh nothing. Come on, Holls, we've gotta hurry before Drefan gets the bathroom."

"So? What's your point?" 

"We don't know if he's like the guys at the orphanage, 'cause we're always wakin' up late." 

Oh no. If Drefan's like the guys at the orphanage, then one word. Or actually, two: Major stinkage. I suddenly felt a bunch of energy in me, and decided to put that into good use. 

"Hurry, Evie, hurry!" 

I rushed to my backpack, grabbed some clothes and pushed Evie all the way to the bathroom. 

**Evaline's POV**

I have never eaten _so_ much in such a long time! Mrs Kelp says it's super important to eat in the morning. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. So it's super important. There was me and Holls and Drefan at the table. Frond knows Drefan eats like those strange mud animals, with the snouts and the curly tail and all. Anyway, so Mr Kelp prepared the food and he's such a great cook! We all had these yummy waffles, and Drefan even had three bowls of cereal after that! It was kinda strange watching that. 

After that we all got ready. Well actually, Mr and Mrs Kelp did. We just kinda stood there and watched. So we got in the car. That took a while, because everyone kept forgetting things that belonged to Gregor and his seat belt took forever to buckle! I don't even remember being in a car when I was a baby. Then again, I don't think we remember things when we're that small. 

The ride was super short. It's like Drefan lived one minute. We could have probably walked! Mrs Kelp, Drefan, Holly and me got off in front of Haven Elementary. 

"Here we are!" Mrs Kelp said joyfully. 

"Hey, Dref!" cried out a boy. We all turned around and saw Chix. 

"Hey!" he replied. 

They did this strange handshake after. 

"I'm gonna go, okay, Mom?" 

"Of course. I'll see you after school, then," she smiled. 

"Bye, Holls, bye Evie!" he waved as he ran along with his friend. 

"See ya, babes!" we heard Chix shout out. 

We both rolled our eyes, but couldn't help smiling and said goodbye to them too. Then we looked up to Mrs Kelp, waiting to see what we had to do. I guess she noticed this, because after that, she said, "Well, let's go inside, shall we?" 

The school… Was big. Very big. Muuuch bigger than our old Saint Frond's Elementary! 

"This place is huuuuuge!" Holly whispered to me. 

"I know!" 

I think Mrs Kelp heard us, because she chuckled. But seriously, this place was like a palace! 

We went into the secretary's office, where the lady told us to sit down on some chairs near the door. Then like grownups always do, Mrs Kelp and the lady talked and talked and talked. 

Then I felt a tug on my sleeve. 

"Psst… Wanna go exploring?" Holly asked me. 

Uh oh. She had that daring look in her eyes… That pretty much meant trouble. 

"No, Holls. Mrs Kelp would be mad. And we could probably get lost in this place!" 

"Aww, nah, Evie, 'course not! Y'know how good me and directions are! We go together like PB and J!" she winked. 

"Holly, no!"

"Fine then. I'll just tell Drefan that you have a crush on him!" 

"_What?_" I exclaimed. Now that was the most _ridiculous_ thing I've ever heard! 

"That's right!" Holly said with triumph. 

"But it's not even true!" I said. She can't possibly tell him that… 

"Well then come exploring with me and I won't tell him!" 

"Holly…" 

"Evie loooooves Drefan!" she taunted. Frond, Holly has _so_ crossed the line! 

"Let's go," I murmured as we sneaked out of the office, Mrs Kelp and the secretary still chatting it up… 

* * *

Uh oh, do I smell trouble? Lol. 

I know I haven't updated in ages, and I'm terribly sorry about that. Now, my writing's really stiff and different, but I'm sure that after a few more chapters, it'll be as good as before. 

Thanks to those who are still reading this story, I really appreciate it. 

Have a nice day, everyone! 


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